Montana Prosecutor Says 'Boys Will Be Boys' To Mother Of 5-Year-Old Rape Victim, Report Reveals Misconduct Of Sexual Assault Cases

A Montana prosecutor allegedly told the mother of a 5-year-old rape victim that "boys will be boys," according to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.

The DOJ's report was part of an investigation into the alleged discriminatory practices of the office of County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg in Missoula County, the Missoulian reported. The investigation revealed that prosecutors said "terrible things" to victims in cases of sexual assault, along with endangering the welfare of women by often refusing to prosecute sex crimes.

A prosecutor from the Missoula office also reportedly told another female victim "all you want is revenge" during a conversation about not pursuing her case, the Missoulian reported.

The 20-page DOJ report was released last Friday afternoon.

"We uncovered evidence of a disturbing pattern of deficiencies in the handling of these cases by the County Attorney's Office, a pattern that not only denies victims meaningful access to justice, but places the safety of all women in Missoula at risk," Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

The DOJ's investigation began in 2012, interviewing over 30 possible victims while also looking into the conduct of the Missoula Police Department and the University of Montana's Office of Public Safety, according to the New York Daily News.

According to the department's findings, the adolescent boy who sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl received two years of community service. The girl's mother asked why the boy received a light sentence, to which the prosecutor handling the case allegedly replied, "boys will be boys," the Missoulian reported.

Van Valkenburg claims the DOJ never gave proof of his office's misconduct.

"First and foremost, I think that this is one of the most unfair, unethical things that I have witnessed in 35 years of public life," Van Valkenburg told the Missoulian.

"These are things I have never even heard of. It is impossible to believe these things are true. This is not how the Missoula County Attorney's Office conducts itself. These are half truths, mistruths, and maybe even outright lies," Van Valkenburg told the Missoulian.